Hilarious video of Queen's Buckingham Palace guard dancing on duty

The Ministry of defence is investigating the video which shows the guard pirouetting and seemingly playing to the crowd

The Queen's Grenadier Guards are known around the world for stern-faced dedication to duty - not their dance moves.

But this remarkable video appears to show one of the guards at Buckingham Palace taking his responsibilities less than seriously.

During the three-minute clip filmed by members of the public, he breaks up the march from his sentry box with the occasional pirouette.

Andy Richards / YouTube

Dancing Guard: The guard pirouettes a number of times during the video, walks in slow motion and freezes

At times he also freezes with his knee in the air, bends over to pick something up and occasionally appears to acknowledge the crowd.

The bystanders are clearly surprised by his actions. Children off camera can be heard discussing the unusual moves.

One asks: "Have you seen them do that before?" while the other "It's just that one, he's messing around a bit. He's turning round...getting a bit weird."

Andy Richards / YouTube

Royal Duty: The guards are supposed to follow strict rules about what they can say and do while on duty

The video was posted online on August 20 by Andy Richards and has since been watched more than 10,000 times.

In his YouTube post Mr Richards wrote: "Will Her Majesty be amused. A Buckingham Palace guardsman misbehaves on duty while The Queen is on holiday. His senior officer might be having a chat with him later..."

Today the Ministry of Defence confirmed the matter was being investigated but at this stage couldn't confirm whether the performance was genuine or a spoof.

A spokesperson said:"We are aware of the video. Anyone who is found to fall short of the Army’s high standards can expect to face appropriate action.”